November's
Inner Constellation theme is gratitude and I just got taken to schoooool to learn a profound lesson in appreciation. Recently, I had the unexpected opportunity to sit with a terminally ill young person for the day. I'll be using the non-gender specific pronoun, "they" to refer to this one to retain confidentiality, even though it's improper English, forgive me:). Here's what they taught me--health is a privileged reality, if you experience it, nurture and appreciate every moment. Spending a day in their reality was a wake up moment. But, the lesson goes even deeper--in spite of being very sick, I kid you not, they smiled and thanked every person caring for them, even though that necessary care impacted their pain, often making it worse.
I was in pure awe and have continued pondering this Bodhisattva, gaining a smidgen of insight on wellness versus disease. As you might have picked up from this blog, I categorize the care for one's
Inner Constellation into three primary points of focus:
1) Body
2) Mind
3) Emotions
With all three, I stress the importance of balance. What happens when one or more of these aspects of ourselves is degenerating, ie completely out of balance? In the above example, the young one's body was almost entirely disabled by disease, however the other two components of mind and emotions were consciously strengthened. It was obvious spending the day with this person that tremendous energy was invested in staying positive and grateful. The result was an amazing solidity, in spite of the failing form.
How might I take the idea of balance and apply it to my body, mind and emotions? When one is not in a state of well-being, might I turn toward my strengths and spend energy increasing what I can increase? If my mind is all over the map, agitated and jumping around like a monkey, can I take my strong, healthy body and go for a run, stretch and do some yoga or go for a mindful walk? Heck, I might even dedicate the merit of my exercise to someone who is not able to exercise, or, I might dedicate the merit of my activity to my monkey-mind! If my body is hurting and in pain, might I use my big heart to send myself some
loving-kindness, reach out to a person in need and give him or her some care and affection?
Meeting my young Bodhisattva friend inspired and expanded my capabilities and sent a gentle and loving message--when a part of myself is not at its strongest, love it up, then
put energy into what is strong. Find your strength--body, mind, emotions. Exercise it to your fullest potential. If you need a coach, someone to fire you up and be a cheerleader,
contact me.
